Menu

Inferior Nasal Concha

Inferior nasal concha definition

The largest of the three turbinate bones, the inferior conchae or inferior turbinates are a pair of identical bones, covered in a thick mucus layer, located below the superior and middle conchae[1, 2]. Unlike the other two bones, the inferior concha is considered a bony structure by itself, sitting on the nasal septum, separating the two nasal cavities [3].

TA:

A02.1.08.001A06.1.02.015

Greys:

p.169

Latin name

Concha nasi inferior,Concha nasalis inferior

Articulations

ethmoid, maxilla, lacrimal, palatine

Identifiers

Gray’s

p.169

TA

A02.1.08.001A06.1.02.015

Dorlands/Elsevier

c_50/12253882

FMA

54736

Inferior nasal concha structure and articulations

The flat, spongy bone has a curled up appearance, resembling a scroll [1]. It has a convex medial surface having multiple longitudinal grooves that enable blood vessels to transport to the mucus layer covering the bone [5].

The concave lateral surface of the nasal concha partially forms the boundary of the inferior meatus. It can be separated into three distinct portions:

The anterior portion that articulates with the maxilla

The posterior articulates with the palatine

The middle portion has three well-defined processes, varying in size and shape; the small pointed lacrimal or anterior process articulates with the lacrimalbone by its top side, while its margins articulate with the maxilla. This articulation helps in the formation of the nasolacrimal canal. The thin, broad ethmoidal process situated behind the lacrimal process joins with the ethmoidbone. Another thin lamina called the maxillary process extends downward to articulate with the maxilla, partially forming the maxillary sinus’s medial wall [4].

Inferior nasal concha ossification

Ossification of the turbinate bone occurs from the single center that appears in the fifth month of fetal growth in the cartilaginous lateral wall of the developing nasal capsule [5].